The Schuylkill River Park Community Garden (SRPCG),
located at about 25th and Spruce, contains around
70 plots (satellite
image) that range in size from 10’ x 10’ to 10’ x 20’. The land is
owned by the City of Philadelphia /
Fairmount Park Commission and leased to the
Center City Residents'
Association (CCRA), which manages the Garden through a steering
committee comprised of current Gardeners. In addition to tending their
plots, Gardeners are responsible for attending two to three work days
per season and assisting with the Garden's public maintenance.

SRPCG, started in 1982, stands on
land that was
initially very unpromising for a park and garden: the Kelly brickyard
and old B&O Railroad Sidings. Originally, the B&O railroad station,
underneath the Walnut Street Bridge, provided passenger service from
Philadelphia to NYC. In 1982, pioneer gardeners staked out their plots,
dug out rocks and construction debris, added large amounts of compost
and top soil, and filled 55 gallon drums with water from the fire
hydrant across 25th Street.

In 1988, thanks to the vision and hard work of many
CCRA members, the support of Park Commissioner Ernesta Ballard, the
advocacy of landscape architect John Collins, and funds from the City of
Philadelphia / Fairmount Park Commission, a larger area was developed
into the beautiful SRPCG as part of the recently completed
Schuylkill River Park.

As part of its 1988 agreement with the city
and in an effort to beautify the park, the SRPCG maintains an
approximately 350' perennial border directly adjacent to the
Park and outside of the garden fence.

In Spring 2009, the
Garden joined
PHS' City Harvest Program, which ultimately produces
food that is donated to local food cupboards. The process starts
in Philadelphia Prisons, where inmates grow seeds into seedling
plants. These plants are distributed to area community gardens
who grow them into produce. The produce is donated by gardeners
to local food cupboards, who in turn distribute the food to
those in need. In the 2010 season, we distributed over 500
pounds of produce to our food cupboard. We are grateful to our partner in this
project, The Philadelphia
School.

In 2011 PBS filmed
segments for their SPROUT Network inside the SRPCG and we once
again donated over 500 pounds of produce to our food cupboard
through the City Harvest Program.

We invite you to
explore the website, visit the SRPCG, and avail yourself of the
online resources for gardeners we
have compiled.

The Gardeners of the
Schuylkill River Park Community Garden wish to
express our deepest appreciation to those who
have supported our recent capital projects,
cumulatively raising over $41,000 not including
numerous in-kind contributions of substantial
size. Major improvements to the Garden
Infrastructure beginning in 2008 were supported
by:

Center City Residents'
Association

Dolfinger-McMahon
Foundation

PA Department of
Community and Economic Development via
State Senator Larry Farnese